THIS IS A REPORT ON PLAYZONE
PLAYZONE
SONG & DANC'N PART II
July 30th, 2012 was the Most Magical Day of Days:
~PLAYZONE DAY~
This year was special, because I feel like Tsubasa's gotten more comfortable in his lead role and it just made me really proud to see him nailing all his performances so well. I remember hearing how nervous he was in 2010 about taking the lead, but he's improved so much since then, I hope it's given his confidence a boost.
Watching Tsubasa perform has always been inspiring for me because he puts so much heart and effort into perfecting his craft. Last year in my Playzone report I said it seemed like he doesn't even think about it when he's dancing, but I think it's just that he's worked up to the level where he can make it look that way. Ever since I realized just how much of a perfectionist he is, I've felt that much more motivated to do the same for my own art.
Really and truly, seeing this year's show drove home just how strongly I consider him my role model.
...Okay, that's all the coherence I have in me.
CAPS LOCK ENGAGED.
:DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
- (non-Tsubasa related) HIGHLIGHTS -
1.) ATSUHIRO. Okay, so, before the show, I watched the TakiCHANnel interview with the cast of Playzone and Tsubasa was all, "It's wonderful working with my senpai Atsuhiro~" and I was like, "...who is this again?" And then Taki-chan interviewed Atsuhiro and he seemed cool, but I didn't look him up. I just figured he was a member of one of the daisenpai groups, acknowledged him as potentially awesome, and got distracted by Tsubasa and Yara and 4U and Yuma.
Then, during the show itself, I realized Atsuhiro is, in fact, amazing and as soon as the words "roller skates" happened, I went, "HIKARU GENJI!" I am now a fangirl of Hikaru Genji: Atsuhiro Division.
Also, he reminds me of Robert Downey Jr. Not in looks (although he has looks of his own and they're plenty nice on their own merits), but in personality. Atsuhiro just has this wealth of self-confidence and willingness to be silly while still somehow retaining all the cool ever and he's just fucking excellent and I like him a lot.
ATSUHIRO: a fucking wonderful human being.
2.) Yuma! Last year I didn't know anything about Yuma. Just that he was the young lad named Yuma. Oh, and I was inexplicably fond of his hair accessories.
Over the past year, however, I've heard a lot about him from both Takki and Tsubasa since they both work with him and I also saw a DVD of Kakumei, so I've grown more knowledgeable and fond of him since last year. :D I still don't know much, just that he's a really sweet kid who works incredibly hard (well, welcome to Johnny's XD) and he's got a really endearing smile.
3.) 4U!!! are officially in my top five favorite Johnny's groups. *____* Last year I knew of only Tatsumi, since he has excellent taste in men (see: Sir Excellent Hips) but since then I've gotten to know more about Yusuke and now I'm learning more about Yuki and Yuta. They're a fantastic group and whenever they appeared onstage I knew whatever they were about to do would be delightful and hilarious. XD
There was this one part, I can't remember when exactly it happened, so I'll put it here:
Yusuke was pretending to be a dog, curled up on stage, and wouldn't get up. Yuma was getting flustered and frustrated with him so finally he was like, "THAT'S IT. I'M CALLING YOUR GROUP."
4U is about as helpful as you'd expect. XD Yuma is all, "FIX THIS," at Tatsumi, advancing on him, and the closer he gets while shouting, Tatsumi kept yelping. So it basically went like this:
YUMA: You need to get him off stage so we can -
TATSUMI: *backing up* Too close, too close, so happy! ... :DDDDD 『近い！近い！近い！嬉しい〜』
Tatsumi also grope-hugged Atsuhiro later on. XD REASONS I LOVE THIS BOY.
4.) YARA!!!!! MY OH MY is Yara appealing. *__________________________*
I was already enormously fond of Yara but following this year's Playzone, I can proudly say I Really Supremely Adore him. He's such a fluid dancer and the majority of his performances are done with this bright, brilliant smile and you know he's having the time of his life just doing what he loves and oh, Yara. :} That kind of enthusiasm for one's craft is what drew me to a lot of my favorite idols - Tsubasa and dancing, Subaru and singing, Shige and writing, Go and awesomeness, Nakai and sadism - and it's made me that much more fond of Yara. :D
5.) SEAT. I had a beautifully wonderful amazing view of the stage which made me :DDDD!!! I'd never been to Aoyama Theater before (last year I saw it in Kansai) and I'd also never had such good seats in such a small venue (except for the Plan B live my friend and I went to together earlier this year) so I was bouncing pretty much the whole thirty minutes I spent in my seat before the show started, flipping through the pamphlet and going, "THIS. ON STAGE OVER THERE. VERY SOON."
OKAY, THE ACTUAL REPORT. IT WILL HAPPEN, I PROMISE.
IT WILL HAPPEN NOW, IN FACT.
- THE SHOW -
[Disclaimer: My review is basically TSUBASA TSUBASA TSUBASA TSUBASA TSUBASA TSUBANYAN TSUBASA HIPS HIPS HIPS HIPS HIPS HIPS HIPS HIPS TSUBASA AND THEN I CLOSED MY PAMPHLET AND THE SHOW BEGAN.]
1. ROAD TO PLAYZONE
TSUBASA'S HEADBAND. ... XD I'm really fond of the headband, sorry. Whenever it appears I get all \:DDDD/
ANYWAY. His dancing in this was incredible. He nailed every movement and he was front and center and we were so close to the stage and had an amazing sight line for the performance and the feelings I had, guys. THE FEELINGS.
One thing I'm especially proud of Tsubasa for - he's done Playzone three years now, so he's sang this song for three years. If you listen to this song's recording from 2010, his pronunciation of the English is deeply iffy. Then, in 2011, he must have worked on his pronunciation, because it's much better. And then, this year, I was struck by how much he's improved again. I love that he's tried to improve multiple angles of his performing, not just his dancing. He still takes vocal lessons, he practices on his own for hours after everyone else has finished, and he actually works on pronunciation. Which is awesome especially because English isn't the foreign language he's into (sadly XD).
Aaaand here's where I admit that ROAD TO PLAYZONE made me tear up. He just looked so focused and passionate, it made me so proud for him. The most I want as a fan is for more and more people to see how wonderful a performer and person he is, so this number was really powerful in that way. Just. Oh, Tsubasa. :)
........Just wait til we get to his solos. XD
2. 真夏の夜の花
This song is beautiful. And just. Yara, guys. *_________* This was the only song I let myself listen to before I saw the show and as a result, I listened to it while I wrote my last Takitsuba fic and then all night on the night bus to Tokyo. I fell asleep and woke up to this song because it was so calming and pretty.
According to Yara's jweb, he wrote the rap himself!
The number itself was just as amazing. The part I remember clearest is when Yara appeared. We'd been watching the stage and then Yara started singing and I was like, "WAIT WHERE IS HE HEY," and then I followed the spotlight to where he was walking down the center aisle to the stage and guuuuuyyyys Yara is really super hot. And his singing. *______*
3. 夢の続きで
I was deeply amused by this one. XD It starts with Yara and co. in the "shower." They basically had a row of stalls with a blurred strip across the front preventing anyone from seeing the Yarabits and cobits.
The highlight for me was the dancing. *__* I really can't describe much because I just have this general memory of Yara being super hot and good with his body. ... Tada! :D The reason Kya makes super detailed con reports. She'll forget everything otherwise.
4. ハンター
This was really, really cute. It had a four seasons theme, and the cast walked across the stage in various forms of seasonal dress while the background changed accordingly behind them from summer -> spring -> autumn -> winter.
Tsubasa looks really good in light blue. /important side notes
5. ハッピーデイズ
This was adorable. The song is so cheerful and bouncy, I keep singing it because it's perpetually stuck in my head like it's the only track in the soundtrack of my life. XD
6. 運命のひと
This song is gorgeous. Before I saw PZ I was trying not to listen to the soundtrack too much because I wanted it to sound fresh when I saw the show, but now that I've seen it I've been playing the hell out of it. And just. This song. Is so beautiful.
7. LPガール
I don't remember anything about this one. Curses. XD
8. 光
I'm really deeply fond of this number both because it features Tsubasa and because his costume in it is really, really pleasing. XD Glossy silver top, bright gold pants. EVERYTHING IS SHINY.
Also, I love watching the cast run around the platform during the "round and around and around~" part. It's cute. XD
9. 終わらない時を
THIS NUMBER. This song was what made me an Atsuhiro fangirl instantly. I told my friend after the show that Atsuhiro managed to make roller skating hot, and she was skeptical, but trust me it's possible. Just...you know when someone is really good at something to the point where they make it look effortless (déjà vu~) - it's that. *___*
Also his roller skates had lights in the wheels and 4U was dancing WITH him and THIS NUMBER WAS AMAZING. *________*
Atsuhiro is wonderful, Atsuhiro is wonderful, Atsuhiro is wonderful.
10. Mi Amor ~あなたという光~
SO. IT'S TIME FOR THIS.
I listened to this the first time with curiosa_cabinet and both of us were all *_____* at it. The song really compliments his range, and while I loved his solo from last year, I think this one is beautiful, too. It's also much more active than his solo last year, too (although I will miss the chaise XD).
The set was really simple - one armchair, a spiral metal staircase, and two platforms off to stage left.
He's basically following this amber spotlight around the stage - when he walks into it, it vanishes and reappears somewhere else. When he does dance, it's spare - just these slow flamenco moves to accent the song.
AND OH, YES, THIS PART:
He strokes the backs of his fingers down the face of some invisible person in the armchair and then circles around the back and splays his fingers on the leather and strokes down to the seat. .......I didn't make a sound during that, not at all. *cough*
Also the last thing he says is, "Te amo," in this really deep voice and HELLO TO YOU TOO, SIR EXCELLENT HIPS. Unf. (He totally cut off the 'o' though. XD spurious and I have this ongoing thing that Tsubasa hates o's - in some magazine they asked him to describe Takki and the magazine says "sympatic" but the word is "sympatico," so it was either him or the magazine, but either way it's funny because FUCK O'S. >:O)
11. マーチ！
Full disclosure: I love marching. I have no idea why. It's just a thing. I don't get it either. XD
SO a whole number revolving around marching = RIGHT UP AND DOWN MY ALLEY.
They improved on this so much from last year, and the dance didn't even change, not that I could tell, anyway.
kajebkawjb god this was really good.
--INTERMISSION--
So once the lights came up and I recovered from the double tap of Mi Amor and March, I dove into my bag for my notebook and scribbled as many notes as I could. I also sketched the set of Mi Amor because I drew the set of Takki's stage for his solo con, so it felt like a kind of symmetry my notes needed. XD A friend of mine warned me that the second act starts really suddenly and that the first time she saw the show it really startled her, so she was giving me the benefit of advance awareness. As a result, I spent the next minute sinking low into my seat and covering my ears and looking around like Taki-chan was lurking in the wings waiting to consume my soul, but my friend was like, "No, no, nothing like that! It's just really abrupt."
I sat up, cautious, and then the music BLASTED and I yelped anyway. XD
I'm too high-strung for my own good is the lesson learned there.
Anyway, I was convinced Act I would be my favorite of the two (ROAD TO PLAYZONE! MARCHING! MI AMOR! ATSUHIRO!) but oh man, I was so taken with Act II. *_________*
12. スシ食いねェ！
This is my favorite way anyone's ever started a second act of a Johnny's stage show.
WHO WANTS SUSHI!?!
I do, Playzone! :DDDDD
Yara and Yuma are dressed as sushi chefs and cheerfully parade around the stage looking more adorable than previously believed possible. At one point they both grab one of each other's ankles and hop in a circle. They even have huge pads of paper and huge pencils for taking orders. It's so cute.
And this is where I really, really noticed how happy Yara looks when he dances. He smiled nonstop in this number and not in the "I AM IDOL SEE ME SPARKLE" way, but in the "THIS IS SO FUN YOU GUYS SERIOUSLY" and awjebkaw he's so good at what he does, but he's got such childlike love for it, too. Yara, why are you so excellent. :'D
13. 気まぐれ One Way Boy
4U on motorcycles in the middle of Arizona/Vegas/somewhere American and desert-y. It was awesome. :D
~~TSUBANYAN AND EDANYAN CORNER~~
Tsubasa. Dressed up as a cat.
...THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE WORLD NOWADAYS.
Seriously, last month if you asked me, "Hey, wanna see cat!loather Imai Tsubasa in a cat costume?" I'd've been like, "Yeah! But I also don't want to see him scowling and hating everything in existence. ... On second thought."
Apparently he switches off between a cat costume and a bunny costume. XD The show I saw, luckily, was the cat. XDDDDD
He rides out on a tricycle (...) wearing a black and white kitty costume (...) and introduces himself to the audience as "Tsubanyan" because I needed another reason to think Playzone is perfect. XD
Then Edanyan appears. XD
While those two are cavorting around being felines, there's a cartoon playing of Tsubasa waking up and getting ready for the day, only to find out he has CAT EARS and a TAIL OMG. And like, the cartoon version of him is super adorable. The eyes take up two-thirds of his face (...I have a type).
He mentioned Takki, like, four or five times. XD The two I remember were: 1) someone dropped sunglasses on the stage, so Tsubasa picks them up and puts them on and goes, "TAKI RANGER :D" and 2) at the end he mounts his tricycle (WHAT IS JOHNNY'S XD) and cycles off stage bawling, "TAKKI~! ATSUHIRO~!"
...SO LET'S TALK AGAIN ABOUT TSUBASA IS MY ROLE MODEL, SHALL WE? :D?
13. 情熱☆熱風せれなーで
So the Tsubanyan bit was setting up...Tsubasa's solo in which he's really hot. XD ...Well, it worked for me, but I've been into Johnny's for way too long to find it jarring. XD
He starts in his "bedroom" in which he has three posters of Takitsuba up on the wall. XD Two are from when they were, like, fifteen, and the one in the center was a tenth anniversary poster. :D I'm assuming it's the poster you get when you order their upcoming album from Playzone/Takki's solo con. :} He didn't acknowledge them, but it did get laughs from the audience. XD
He's wearing the best shirt ever. It's black and slinky and whenever he moves it's awjbawkeblwabewabejhwabejhawvejalweawhjevljawhve I AM A FAN OF THAT SHIRT AND I HOPE IT'S HIS OR HE TAKES IT HOME AND WEARS IT FOR MANY CONS IN THE FUTURE.
...Ahem.
The set is uses a rotating stage, which I thought was appropriate since his solo from last year also used it, and it circles as he moves through three sets to get ready and then go out into the world. He starts in the purple bedroom, then goes to his huge walk-in closet room - seriously, I thought it was a living room at first but all it has is clothes and a mirror, so I'm gonna go with closet room - and on the rack there's a huge red jacket with TACKEY & TSUBASA written in silver down the back. XDDDD Someone's subtle about promoting his marriage.
Last bit is him outside largely ignoring this projection of a girl on the screen behind him that he's supposed to be pursuing. In the end he runs offstage after her. Cute. XD
14a. 恋=Do! (Instrumental)
14b. 君に薔薇薔薇…という感じ (Instrumental)
14c. 原宿キッス (Instrumental)
I don't quite remember these. XD Next time I'll pay closer attention! They were between Tsubanyan, Tsubasa in low-cut black shirt and Diamond, so my memory got...distracted. XD
15. Diamond
WBEKJWBLEKBWKJEBWHEBWLJHELHTVILY#WSC(*&*^EDFGH(*&^%OUYDFGDRTFGFTRTGHGYTYUHJKKIUIKLOPOOI(UI^#@QAWSDFGHJMNBFD@#WESDX)OPL^YHCVIUJGDCTUVIBLSRCTVYUOLKEXCYVYBUOLESTCHOYTXCVBHLUYRUTDCUHPOOI&U^EDVBJO:LKTSXCVJ:LKFVH_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________/\_____________/\______/\___/\_/\_/\_/
...Diamond was really good.
XD Seriously, all my notes say is: "GOD. DIAMOND."
I saw it at Our Future and again on the DVD and you'd think I'd be accustomed to the level of hot from Diamond after all the years of watching performances of it but NOPE. Travis's choreography for this song slays me every time I see it.
Tsubasa just moves so well throughout it. I forget who it was, but a friend watched the Our Future DVD with me recently and she said, "It doesn't look like Johnny's choreography, or even Japanese choreography." The movement in the number requires such control and confidence in one's body, but I didn't really notice how technically challenging it must be until I saw Takki do it. And Takki's not a bad dancer, not at all, but he's very self-conscious when he's dancing and it shows in his face how much he's thinking about every step he makes. It's clear how hard he worked to do Diamond justice, and I have to hand it to him for doing it as well as he did, because damn that number is complex.
One of the things I find so beautiful about dancing is that it exposes everything. Everything other art form I can think of has some layer of protection - acting has the protection of fiction, and writing and art and filmmaking have the protection of the artist's distance. Singing comes close, since in song, you're just yourself, putting all your emotion and soul into your voice. But body language is so powerful, and most people don't even notice how much of an impact it makes in every single interaction.
And especially for a dancer brought up in a culture as rigid as Japan's can be, having fluidity and confidence and trust and faith in one's body enough so that one can evoke emotions in others with just dance - that's truly beautiful to me.
.........Eventually I have to talk about something other than Diamond, don't I? XD
16. ヨイショッ
Audience song! They all wandered around the audience, and Tsubasa walked right by the seat I'll have the next time I see the show. *_____*
17. 青春アミーゴ
Really cute! I couldn't quite get the "BUT KAMEPI" out of my head, but it was definitely an original take on the number. I definitely wouldn't have thought of "soldiers of the future" but it worked!
18. うわさのキッス
The surfing number. XD Atsuhiro teaches surfing, pretends to be a shark, and acts like a goofball. Totally handed me the torch I now carry for him.
19. Liar (Instrumental)
This was the big staircase bit where they all took their bows and it made me all nostalgic for Gene Kelly movies. *___*
After Atsuhiro took his bow, second-to-last, he gestured for Tsubasa to take his and, like, Atsuhiro had such a look of fondness and it was a really sweet senpai/kouhai moment. :)
20. GUYS PLAYZONE
GIANT BROADWAY SCAFFOLDING THING RETURNS. :DDDD
During the last curtain call, Tsubasa thanked everyone and did his lead role bit and then they took their bows to stage left and stage right and then there was a pause and this was my favorite part: before Tsubasa led the final bow, he took his time acknowledging the entire audience. First he looked across the first floor and then the balconies. It was such a nice touch, and very thoughtful, and then he took his bow and stayed low for a long moment. Really sweet. :}
Also, he'd taken off his jacket and was sleeveless.
BICEPS.
Is the note on which I will end this report. XD
Actually, no it's not. This is:
